Man it is so hard to get the soft top put back up. Just seems difficult to get the front to the hinges. Anyone have any tips as to how to make this easier?
What part are you having trouble with? If you are having trouble getting the front header latches to engage, are you hooking the rear sail panels in the tub channel first? If so, don't...you'll have too much tension on the top to reach with the front header latches. Leave the sail panels out, latch the front header, THEN do the rear corners. If you put one hand on top of the rear corner and put some weight on it you should be able to easily slip the sail panel tabs into the tub channels.
It's a little hard to explain....do a search on YouTube, there's tons of videos.
Dk8, where bout in GA are you? Lots of us LJs around Atlanta, and tons heading up to Jeepfest in Jasper this weekend. Maybe one of us is close and could assist.
With my experience it's only when the soft tops are brand new that it's a pain in the butt to latch them. Once they break in a bit it gets easier, but MAN was mine a two person job when it was brand new!
Same here mine was a royal pain to put up, but i no longer have to deal with that after i got my hardtop, but i am looking into getting a after market soft top for it.
2006 LJ
The trick is not to attach the sail panels in the back..let them hang.
Do NOT close the latches all the way up front..Just put the hooks in. Then do the sail panels in the rear. Once those are in, latch the front and hook the tabs on the sides into the door surrounds. Helps if the top is in the sun.
I was surprised at how hard it was to reconnect the side clips over the door when I put my soft top up when it's low 60s or colder at night. I needed a neighbor to push down hard on the top so I could connect them.
Everyone has their own tricks to getting them on. I can get mine done in about 2 minutes if I work quick. I'd say the biggest thing is making sure the latches go on last (as most have said).
I try and attach the top to the door surrounds first, then get the hooks on the front side, the tail area, THEN the latches on the front. If the door surrounds are giving me trouble (my frame is about shot...) then I attach the side hooks on the front first.
The biggest problem I have is when my latches get caught between the top and the windshield header and I hook the front side in, so just make sure those are not getting caught before its too tight
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Ask a question
Ask a question
Jeep Wrangler Forum
9M posts
468K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to Jeep Wrangler owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about reviews, performance, trail riding, gear, suspension, tires, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, for all JL, JT, JK, TJ, YJ, and CJ models!